Chris Kindness Award
Our mission is to encourage kindness by shining a light on the people in our community whose selfless acts, large and small, make our lives a little brighter.
Share It
Tell us about someone who inspires you – we want to share their kindness with the world! Nominate them for the Chris Kindness Award in recognition of all they do to make Berkeley (and the world) a better place, one random act of kindness at a time.
Grow It
No act of kindness is too small – everyday acts can have ripple effects that are just as impactful as huge acts of kindness. We believe kindness can change the world around us and we hope to inspire you to spread it throughout Berkeley and beyond!
Pass It On
New research shows small gestures matter more than we think. We tend to under-estimate the power of a single act of kindness in our daily lives. The Chris Kindness Award was established to inspire you to practice kindness and to recognize it in others.
KNOW SOMEONE WHO SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED FOR KINDNESS? WE ARE AWARDING $1000 EACH MONTH FOR ACTS OF KINDNESS PERFORMED BY PEOPLE WHO LIVE, WORK OR GO TO SCHOOL IN BERKELEY, CA
Who is Chris?
The Chris Kindness Award was created in 2022 by Professor Alan Ross in honor of Chris Walton, an early childhood educator who believed in the power of kindness and practiced it every day. Professor Ross, a lecturer and distinguished teaching fellow at UC Berkeley, was a benefactor of that kindness; Alan’s children, Haley and Danny, attended Chris’ classes. When Alan wasn’t in his lecture hall at Cal, he enjoyed volunteering in Chris’ joyful class. Upon Chris’ passing, Alan began thinking about ways to inspire kindness in Chris’ name. Hence, the Chris Kindness Award.
In the Press
Book Release
The great Kevin Adler, recent Chris Kindness Award winner has a new book out - When We Walk By. Kevin has a powerful story to tell and an original take on homelessness that you will be moved by and learn a lot from.
NBC Bay Area
Chris Kindness winner, Anthony Carrasco, a UC Berkeley law student, guides 60-year-old living on the streets into stable housing
Kron4
Kron4's Stephanie Lin interviews founder, Alan Ross, on first anniversary of Chris Kindness Award!
Sacramento Bee
A college professor is going to give away $1,000 a month to people in Berkeley, California who show acts of kindness.
The New York Times
The New York Times covered our first $1000 award winner, middle school teacher Michele Williams.
'Talk Talk' with Martha Quinn
This episode was inspired by UC Berkeley Haas School of Business professor Alan Ross who is giving one person every month $1,000 a month for their random acts of kindness.
Featured in media outlets across the US (and, to our delight, Europe):
